1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hand held breast pump.
2. Background of the Prior Art
Breast pumps for pumping milk from a lactating mother for delivery to a child are well known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,531 to Silver, U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,084 to Palmer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,747 to Aida et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,323,067 to Adams, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,542,505 to Gascoigne are all examples of such devices. While these and other breast pumps found in the art work with varying degrees of efficiency, they suffer from one or more problems.
Many devices are unduly complex in design, making them expensive to manufacture and maintain. Other devices are relatively complex and difficult to operate, making their use by a mother less attractive. Still other devices cause discomfort and pain, making their use by a mother very unattractive.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a breast pump that overcomes the problems associated with current state of the art devices. Such a breast pump must be of relatively simple design and construction and must be easy to use. Use of the breast pump must not result in unde pain or discomfort to the user.